


Codependent

by ejb2987



Category: Bourne Legacy (2012), Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011), The Avengers (2012)
Genre: "Barney Barton is Aaron Cross", "Clones", "Love between identical brothers", AU, Incest, M/M, Multi, Mutants, Origin Story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-25
Updated: 2013-05-30
Packaged: 2017-12-12 23:13:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/817175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ejb2987/pseuds/ejb2987
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When SHIELD is sent to bring in a FBI agent that has been captured by Hydra they get more than they expected. Can they handle the Barton brothers?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Codependent

Warning: There will be incest in this story and a reasonable amount of violence. If you don’t like it don’t read on.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Avengers, Mission Impossible or Bourne Legacy.

* * *

* * *

 

 

‘ _Wake up! You have to wake up now_!’ a voice said in his head.

Clint jerked awake. For the first time in his existence his head was clear. He was floating in his tube. His sudden movement had woken up his brother who was also floating in front of him. His brother stared into his eyes in confusion. Apparently he hadn’t heard the voice. Clint looked around seeing the room in a blur. No one was there. Was something wrong with him? His breathing quickened in panic as his thoughts sped up. If something was wrong they would take him away from his brother. They couldn’t do that. His brother was the only thing he had. His breath slowed down as his brother’s hand settled on his lower back drawing Clint to him. Clint looked into his brother’s eyes seeing the comfort there. He lowered his head to lean against his brother’s naked shoulder as he slowly calmed down.

‘ _You need to get out of there now! You have to leave now!!!_ ’ Clint jerked again and instantly started feeling around the tube trying to find a way out. His brother was watching him in confusion. Clint turned to him begging with his eyes for help. His brother studied the glass of their tube for a few moments before placing two of his fingers against a spot on the glass. He pressed against the spot causing cracks to appear. Clint’s mind instantly told him that the cracks would spread resulting in the tube to break in thirty five seconds. Clint grabbed his brother and moved them towards the center of the tube and turned so their heads where leaning slightly towards the glass. This would result in the least amount of injury from glass or the fall.

The tube shattered sending them across the room in a wave of liquid. Clint coughed as his lungs took in a breath of fresh air for the first time. When he could finally breathe normally he found himself lying on his back with his brother over him. His brother looked down at him with a smile. Clint smiled back and enjoyed the feeling of his brother’s weight pinning him down.

“Get up we have to go.” A voice said from above them. Clint turned with his brother to see who it was. He felt his brother tense in shock against him. There was a man that looked exactly like them standing in the doorway. He was dressed in black ops armor.

“I said get up and put these on.” The man said throwing something at him. They slowly got up and grabbed the cloth. They were two pair of pants. Clint pulled on one of the pants and got up. His brother quickly joined him. The man looked them over then walked out of the room. Clint quickly followed him. They walked down a sterile white hallway. Clint was lost and had no idea why they were following this man. Was it because he looked like Clint and his brother? Was he another brother that they hadn’t known about?

“Stop right there. How did you get out of your cell and how did those two get out of their tube?” A man asked from behind them. Three men were standing there with guns pointed at them. Clint stood there as his mind ran through possible scenarios. Most of the possibilities resulted in either him or his brother getting shot and he wasn’t willing to let that happen. Clint raised his hands in a clear sign of surrender. His brother after looking at him quickly copied his actions. The soldiers seemed to relax at their actions. The man that they had been following jumped over their shoulders kicking one of the soldiers in the face. He then knocked the gun out of another soldiers hand before the first had hit the floor. He blocked a punch and grabbed the arm twisting it behind the soldiers back using the man as a shield from the last soldier.

Clint instantly knew that the soldier was going to shoot his colleague and then the man. There was nothing around that he could use to take the man down. To make it worse the soldier that had been kicked in the face was waking up. He looked at his brother who smiled at him. His brother jumped forward jamming his fist into the man’s shoulder causing the man to cry out in pain and drop his gun. His arm was hanging limply at his side. His brother had broken the man’s arm. His brother punched the man in the face knocking him out and then kicked the other soldier in the face.

“Ummm thanks.” Their look alike said staring at them. His brother bent over picking up two of the guns he handed one of the guns to Clint. They turned to the man waiting for him to do something. The man studied them for a few minutes before continuing down the hallway. They approached a huge room. Clint saw that there were ten men with guns waiting for them. He raised his hand signaling them to stop. Clint ran through the scenarios for a few minutes before smiling. He raised his gun and shot ten times. All of the men fell to the floor. Clint smiled and walked forward with his brother who had thrown his arm around him. He bent down and picked up one of the assault rifles that the men had.

“What the hell?” The man asked as he followed them out of the building.

* * *

* * *

 

Charles Barton or Barney to his friends had no idea what he was doing. Before he had been captured by Hydra he had been an FBI agent. Now he was on the run with two clones of himself. They looked exactly like him; there was no way they could be anything but his brothers. So now Barney was a part of a triplet, yay for him.  It had taken a little work but he had been able to forge an identity for them. Barney now had two brothers Clint and William Barton.

Two months had passed since they had broken out of the lab and they still hadn’t said a word. He knew that they could speak since the telepath that had helped him escape had told him that she had implanted a complete education into the twins including the basic functions a child would learn.

He was pretty sure that the twins just didn’t see a reason to talk. They had some kind of way to talk to each other by just looking into each other’s eyes. Barney was even starting to be able to understand them a little.

He hadn’t returned to the FBI knowing that he wouldn’t be able to explain what had happened or how he suddenly had two brothers when he had been a single child before he vanished. Instead he was living as a mercenary in the Middle East. He was also teaching the twins how to fight and shoot a gun. They were both scary good at everything he taught them. He knew that some of it was their mutation. Barney had been captured because he was a mutant. His ability was that his mind and body were perfectly in sync with each other. If he could think it and if it was physically possible he could do it. This made him a master fighter and one of the best shots around able to make seemingly impossible shots. Hydra had captured him in the hopes of cloning an army of perfect soldiers.

There was just one problem with their plans. No one really understood how the X-gene worked completely. Even that professor Xavier who had approached him couldn’t explain it completely. Siblings while having similar powers did not have the exact same powers. While Clint and William were genetically identical to him their powers had manifested differently than him. Personally he found their powers scarier than his.

Clint could apparently see causes and effects of everything around him and could influence them to achieve anything he wanted as long as it was possible. It made him frankly terrifying with a gun and a fairly decent fighter. He could also cause accidents to happen with seemingly innocent things. When they had been captured by some thugs Clint had electrocuted their interrogator and two guards just by dropping a pencil.

William’s powers were just as scary. He could analyze anything from an object or a person and locate any weakness and manipulate it. By looking at a seemingly solid wall he could find its faults and make the wall come crashing down by pushing against it. This ability made him deadly in a fist fight. He could shatter bones easily or hit a nerve that would cause a heart attack, though he rarely did the latter. The only time either of the twins went out of their way to intentionally kill someone was when the other was in danger. The two of them were unnaturally close to each other. Going nowhere without the other, they even took showers with each other. He was pretty sure that they would be incapable of forming relationships that didn’t involve the other.

What worried him was the fact that the brothers were starting to include him in their rituals. They refused to let him go anywhere without them. He had even started waking up with his brothers cuddled around him. The other day they had even squeezed into the shower with him. Not to mention the way they had started to touch him. Not in an overtly sexual way. It was just a hand brushing his shoulders when they walked by, their hands touching each other a little too long when they passed things at the dinner table. The problem was that he was doing these things too.  

Whatever psychic link that his brothers had that made them so codependent on each other was extending to him. He could now sometimes understand what his brother’s were trying to tell him when they looked into his eyes and when he was laying in bed surrounded by his sleeping brothers he could swear he could feel what they were feeling in the back of his head.

“Hurry up Clint we have to be back at the house before dark. It’s not safe to be out after dark around here.” Barney said studying his environment.

They had decided to go to what passed as a market around here. Well except they sold guns instead of food in this market. Clint was staring at a sweet looking rifle with longing in his eyes. Barney felt a tug around his heart. They didn’t have enough money for it right now. His savings had quickly disappeared and business had been slow for the last few weeks. He felt guilty that he wasn’t able to buy them whatever they wanted. It was his responsibility to provide for them and he wasn’t doing a good enough job. Clint sent him a reassuring smile and walked over to him brushing his shoulder with his hand. Apparently Clint had felt his guilt through this new link.

“We’re being watched.” A familiar voice said from next to them. Barney jumped when he recognized where he knew that voice. It was his own voice. William had been the one to talk. One of his brothers had actually talked for once. Barney couldn’t help but smile at this. His smile quickly fell when the words finally sunk in. The brothers quickly left the market feeling eyes on them the whole time. They ducked into an alley and took the long way to their house trying to lose their tail. They would have to leave. Whoever was following them wasn’t a common warlord of the area. It was most likely Hydra trying to get their property.

Barney was about to open the door to their apartment when a hand fell on his shoulder stopping him. Clint was looking around with a worried look on his face.

“Something’s not right.” Clint whispered his voice sounding scratchy and unused. He pulled out his gun. Barney quickly copied his actions before pushing the door open.

“I assure you there is no need for that Mr. Barton.” A bland voice said from further inside their apartment. A man in a suit was sitting at their dining room table. He had a receding hair line and looked like he belonged in a conference room instead of their ratty apartment. Barney didn’t lower his gun and was glad to see that his brothers hadn’t lowered theirs. He kept his eyes glued to the man as his brothers looked around the room.

“I’ll be the judge of that. Who the hell are you and who do you work for?” Barney asked knowing that his brothers were more likely to kill the stranger before they actually spoke to him.

“My name is Phil Coulson I work for the Strategic Homeland Intervention and Logistic Division.” The man said not seeming to care that there were three guns pointed at him.

“Never heard of it, what would strategic homeland whatever want with us?”

“Your boss at the FBI called in a favor with my boss when he couldn’t find any clues on your disappearance. We were able to find out that you were kidnapped by Hydra. We were about to execute a rescue mission when we learned that you had been able to escape on your own with two identical brothers that we have no record of you ever having. I was sent to figure out why you were kidnapped by Hydra and where your brothers had come from.” The man said.

“Something tells me you’re not just here to get answers if the team you had following us is anything to go by.” Barney responded.

“I’m also supposed to bring you in.” The man said. Barneys trigger finger tightened as his brothers stiffened and looked like they were preparing for anything.

“Before you shoot me you should know that I have this building surrounded with enough men even the three of you should find it hard to escape.” The man said standing up. Barney scowled and slowly lowered his gun. The man dusted off his suit as Barney’s brothers slowly lowered their own weapons. He looked into their eyes trying to let them know that they should go along with this guy not putting up any resistance. Well, at least not until they knew what they were up against. His brothers nodded in understanding.

“We should be getting on our way, Fury doesn't like to be kept waiting” The man said with a slight smile.


	2. Chapter 2

Codependent

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Avengers, MI or Bourne Legacy.

* * *

* * *

 

 Will watched as the doctor put the syringe into his arm. He had to stop himself from shattering the man’s arm. He could tell that there were three locations in the man’s arm where there was a lack of sufficient calcium. One was located right above the wrist. Attacking this weak spot would cause his hand to jerk most likely resulting in his vein being torn open. Another weak spot was a little further up the arm and would result in the same events. The last one was right next to the shoulder. This was his best shot. Striking there would cause severe nerve damage and result in complete loss of function in that arm.

He looked over to Barney and saw him shake his head no. Apparently they were still waiting to make their move. It had been a few days since they had been brought to this secret lab. If Barney could handle staying here he definitely could. Barney had stopped talking only communicating through his eyes like Clint and Will did even though it was a hit or miss that it would succeed. They had also been forced to take showers and go to the bathroom with an armed guard. This didn’t really bother him since Will tended to see people that weren’t his brothers as part of the scenery. Only a little more important than the chair he sat in, if only due to the fact that they were possible threats.

He sighed and forced himself to relax as the doctor removed the syringe. He turned to his other brother just in time to see Clint grab a quarter off of a nearby tray. There were scalpels on the tray that would have been more useful. Clint looked into his eyes and Will held in his surprise. He would never stop finding his brother’s powers fascinating. Clint had calculated twelve ways to take down everyone in the room with only that quarter. Two of them would result in one of them getting injured. The rest would result in severe injury to most of the guards and doctors. Clint smiled at him before putting the quarter in his pocket.

“Alright we're done here. You can return them to their cells.” The doctor said standing up. Will stood up and let the guards escort them to their new homes. Their cells were three connect glass rooms. They had been brought to these cells when Barney had taken down twenty of their guards when they had tried to separate them. The glass was strong, bulletproof and almost perfect. Well it would be perfect if it was holding anyone but Will. He was in the center cell with his brothers on either side of him. He entered the cell and waited until the guards left.

Once they were gone he studied the glass wall that separated him from Clint. There were minor faults all over the wall though none of them were strong enough to shatter the glass alone. Will ran his hand along the glass pressing down every once in a while making sure to only put real force a few times. Every time he applied force micro-fractures appeared in the glass weakening the glass. When he was done a single tap in the right place would cause the glass to shatter in just the right way were it wouldn’t hurt Clint. He had already done this to the wall separating him from Barney. When the time came they would be ready to make a break for it.

* * *

* * *

 

 

 

 

“What do we have?’” Fury asked as he entered the surveillance room. He had been unable to get away from the council the last few days. He had left the Barton brothers in Coulson and Hill’s capable hands.

“The brothers are identical in every way. None of them have a single scar that we can use to identify the original.” Coulson said.

“Is that part of their mutation?”

“No sir, we have had encounters with mutants with healing factors and we can definitely say that their X-Gene does not match. We think that Hydra used a mutant with healing abilities to remove any identifying markers from them.” Hill spoke up.

“So there is no way to tell them apart at all?” Fury asked.

“Not completely. While the three are physically identical their personalities are quite different. I also think that their mutations are not the same.” Phil said.

“Explain.”

“The one in the left cell was the only one that has spoken to any of our men. He seems to speak for the borthers when words are required. Our doctors assure us that the others are physically capable of talking...they just aren't. He’s also the one that took down over twenty of our men when we tried to separate them.” Phil spoke up.

“None of the others stepped in to help?” Fury asked.

“No sir, they were watching and were prepared to step in but it looks like they didn’t think of our men as enough of a threat to take part.”

“The fact that he was able to take down our men without getting even a scratch kind of tells us that they aren’t.” Fury said.

“Yes sir, the one in the middle cell hasn’t said a wordand seems to be the coldest of the brothers. He also seems to have some kind of mutation that lets him break things.”

“How do you know that?” Hill asked.

“Look at him running his hands over the glass. Our sensors are telling us that he is causing micro-fractures to appear all over the wall. The integrity of the wall has been lowered significantly. Our estimates are that they could have broken out of their cells two days ago.” Phil responded.

“Why are they waiting then? It’s fairly obvious that between the two of them they could have escaped a long time ago.” Fury asked.

“We don’t know sir, though we think the one in the first cell is holding them back until the perfect moment to strike.” Hill responded. Fury looked at her in consideration. He didn’t like this at all. These were some extremely powerful men and they were currently alienating them. He turned back to the screen and looked at the last cell. Its occupant was sitting calmly and was flipping a coin. Where the hell did he get that?

“What about the last one?”

“We don’t really have any idea what he can do. He seems to be the most innocent of the three. He watches everything with childhood fascination and has been playing with anything he could get his hands on. This seems to contradict the fear that anyone who spends any time with him seems to develop. When I asked some of our medical staff they told me that it was like he gave off this attitude that he could kill them anytime he wanted.” Phil spoke up.

“Great. You’re telling me that the one we know nothing about might be the deadliest of the bunch.” Fury growled.

“What do you want to do sir?” Hill asked.

“There is no way that we are going to be able to hold them. Offer them jobs as assets of SHIELD if they refuse then let them go.” Fury said.

“We’ve been holding them captive for days now, why would they accept our offer.” Phil asked.

“Point out that we are the only ones that can keep them safe from Hydra and that they will not be prisoners to us. Offer them whatever they want as long as it’s reasonable.” Fury said before walking out of the room. He needed a hard drink after hearing about these Barton brothers.

* * *

* * *

 

 

 

“Please have a seat.” Phil said to the brothers when they entered the room. He watched as the brothers sat down across from him.

“I would like to apologize for your treatment while you were in our custody.” Phil said as he studied them. Two of them were giving him incredulous looks while the last one was looking at him suspiciously.

“You are free to go now.” Phil said standing up. He had almost made it to the door before one of them spoke up.

“You’re just letting us go?” The one in the middle asked.

“I was also ordered to offer you a job but I’m fairly certain it was pointless to even bother. Like I said you’re free to go.” Phil said.

“Stop playing games. What can you offer us?”

“We can guard you from Hydra making sure that they never get their hands on you ever again.” Phil said walking back to the table.

“I think we’ve made it pretty obvious we can take care of ourselves.”

“I’m certain you can, but you would never be able to settle down. Do you really want to live the rest of your lives on the run? Is that the life you want for your brothers?” Phil asked. It looked like he had struck a nerve with the brother in the middle. Interesting, apparently this brother felt a need to take care of and protect the others. He was starting to suspect that this one was the original Barton.

“Don’t presume to know what we want.” The one on the right spoke up for the first time since they met.

“What else are you offering?” The first brother asked.

“We are willing to offer you asset positions under our organizations. I wouldn’t be able to tell you what you will be doing specifically until I know more about what you are capable of. Though I can tell you one of our main responsibilities is to deal with organizations like Hydra.” Phil said sitting back down.

“We want a house with at least three rooms fully paid for. Make it have an armory too. We also get to turn down missions that we don’t agree with.”

“We can get you a suit inside the city. Our main head quarters are located in New York an apartment complex is more practical than a house.” Phil responded.

“Fine but we get to choose which apartment we get.”

“That’s perfectly fine. On the mission aspect we are willing to give you three times that you can turn down a mission before you’re released from our service.” Phil said.

“Yearly.” They countered.

“Not yearly but three times each.” Phil responded.

“Fine, three times each is alright. We also only work as a group. That part isn’t negotiable.” They responded.

“What use are operatives that can’t work independently?” Phil asked in frustration.

“We are an extremely talented strike force. As you’ve witnessed we are completely capable of handling a base by ourselves.” The middle one responded with a smirk.

“Fine, we’ll figure out how to make it work.” Phil said standing up.

“Can you tell us your names and powers now?” Phil asked as he opened the door.

“We’re not telling you anything until our contracts are signed and filed.”

“We’ll have your contract ready soon.” Phil said walking out the door.

* * *

* * *

 

 

 

“Here you go.” Phil said handing over the contract. The one to the left grabbed it and started to read it. Phil knew something was wrong when he started to frown the further along he went. The man soon finished and threw the contract on the table.

“We’re done here.” The man said standing up. His brothers quickly joined him and started walking out of the room. The two guards there didn’t move and looked like they were thinking of raising their weapons.

“I thought you said we were free to go?” The one that had read the contract asked. Phil studied the brothers and saw that the brother that had remained silent throughout the whole meeting was playing with a quarter and was studying the room. He had to do something before things got out of hand.

“How about we all calm down? What’s wrong with the contract?” Phil asked standing up.

“Like you don’t know.” The same brother growled studying the two soldiers in front of them.

“I really don’t. How about you tell me what you didn’t like?” Phil said. The man walked over grabbed the contract flipping to a page and handed it to Phil. He read it and felt his anger grow the more he read. There was someone in legal that he was going to have to skin alive.

They had slipped in a clause that was worded in just the right way to make it were SHIELD would have the right to remove the brothers personal rights whenever they went against SHIELD’s wishes. No wonder the brothers were angry enough to fight their way out. This clause basically made them indentured servants of SHIELD. It was unconstitutional and basically morally unforgivable. Phil would have to throw out the red carpet to get the brothers to agree to sign another contract.

“I assure you that I didn’t know about this. Someone down in legal over stepped their authority.” Phil said.

“Even if I believe you, why the hell should we agree to work for people who think a contract like that is alright?”

“We don’t believe it’s alright. I assure you the person who wrote that will be taken care of.” Phil said.

“If you want us to work for you there are going to be a few changes to our original deal.” One of the brothers said with a smirk. Something told Phil that Fury wasn’t going to like this.

* * *

* * *

 

 

 

“WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?” Fury yelled.

“We had them agreeing to a contract that asked for considerably less money than they are getting now and with less chances of turning down assignments then they have now.” Phil said.

“Then how the hell did we end up paying them a 87,000 annual salary each and they all have six chances of turning down assignments along with the fully paid and furnished apartment that comes with a fully stocked armory?” Fury asked.

“Someone down in legal decided that it was alright to add an unauthorized clause into the contract without telling anyone. One of the brothers caught the change and took offense. I was lucky enough to keep them willing to talk and not leave as enemies of SHIELD.” Phil said showing how mad he was at the turn of events.

“What kind of clause turns a man from signing up to being our enemy?” Fury asked.

“From what I understand it would have allowed SHIELD to remove their rights for every time the brothers did anything we didn’t agree to. It basically made them slaves to our organization.” Phil said.

Fury sighed and rubbed his forehead. This whole situation had been one cluster fuck after another. They shouldn’t have been held in captivity for so long but a choice of this size couldn’t be approved by anyone other than him and the council had refused to let him go any earlier than this.

“What’s happening with this person from legal?”

“They have been fired and we’ve had their license stripped. We’re currently looking into taking legal actions against them.” Phil responded.

“Screw that! Anyone in legal knows too much to be allowed to leave with a grudge. Apprehend him and send him to our prison in Alaska.” Fury said.

“Understood I’ll have some of our men take him in right away.” Phil said.

“Oh and Phil the floor above your apartment is free isn’t it?” Fury asked.

“Umm, yes sir…” Phil responded looking worried.

“Do whatever it takes to make them agree to that apartment. I want them somewhere one of my most trusted agents can keep an eye on them.”

“Of course sir.” Phil responded. Phil turned around and was almost out of the office before Fury stopped him.

“Oh and in case it wasn’t obvious enough you’re now their handler. Any crap they cause will be on your head. So I recommend you find a way to keep them in line Cheese.” Fury said with an evil smile as his old friend left his office, his shoulders ten times tighter than when he had come in.


	3. Chapter 3

Codependent

Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Avengers, Mission Impossible or Bourne Legacy.

* * *

* * *

 

 

 

Barney woke up feeling warm and comfortable. Will was pressed against his back his arm wrapped around Barney’s waist holding him against his chest. It was a warm solid weight against him that he had never felt before. His life before he was kidnapped wasn’t really good for making connections. He couldn’t remember the last time someone held him let alone cuddled. Clint was also in front of him. Barney’s face had been pressed against his chest. Clint’s arm was also wrapped around him. He was in a warm cocoon made of his brothers.

He felt safer than he had ever felt before. Why had he woken up? He stayed quiet for a few seconds trying to find out what had woke him up. He couldn’t hear anything. His eyes were about to close when a loud knock filled the room. Damn it someone was knocking on the door. They knew no one in New York. He slowly worked his way out of the dog pile his brother’s had made. He slowly pushed Clint onto his back. He put his leg over his body and started making his way over him. Before he could get over two hands fell onto his waist stopping him.

“Mmmm this is nice.” Clint mumbled his voice thick with sleep. Barney felt his face heat up as he felt something poke against his butt. His brothers had been extra touchy since they had been released from their cells but this was the furthest they had gone with him. Clint thrust up against him making Barney gasp.

“Clint I have to get up…” Barney stuttered. Clint let out a deep booming laugh that sent shivers down his spine before thrusting up again with more force.

“Yeah you definitely do.” Clint said with a smirk, giving a pointed look at Barney’s groin. Barney lowered his hands to try to hide the way his body was reacting. Before Clint could say anything else a knock came from their front door again.

“That’s what I meant.” Barney said standing up ignoring the unpleased moan Clint let out. He walked out of their bedroom and headed over to the door. He grabbed the gun they kept in a table near the entrance. He cocked the gun before slowly opening the door. He sighed and lowered his gun when he saw who was at the door.

“What can I do for you Mr. Coulson?” Barney asked leaving the door as he walked to the kitchen to start some coffee brewing.

“Do you usually answer the door naked?” Coulson asked as he followed him after closing the door.

“Yeah I find it either scares people off or leads to a pleasant afternoon. Which one are you going to be?” Barney asked leering at the older man.

“Not going to happen.” Coulson said as he walked over and sat down at their kitchen table.

“Oh well, my brothers would have killed me if I got it on with our attractive handler without them.” Barney said as he took out four coffee cups.

“Damn straight. If any of us get to sleep with Coulson it’s going to be all three of us.” Clint said walking into the room still looking half asleep.

“Who’s sleeping with Coulson?” Will asked following his brother stumbling all the way.

“No one is sleeping with me.” Coulson said making Clint pout as he sat next to Coulson. Will sat next to his brother and let his head rest on his shoulder as he went back to sleep. Coulson looked at the triplets being careful to just look into their eyes. Barney was making them their coffee while the other two looked like they were going back to sleep.

“Can the three of you put some clothes on?” Coulson asked.

“Ahh are we making the big scary SHIELD agent uncomfortable?” Barney asked.

“No it’s just that clothes are kind of necessary when you go outside.”

“Why would we be going outside? It’s Sunday and we have the weekend off.” Barney asked as he placed a cup of coffee in front of Coulson.

“One of the doctors wants to run some more tests. They said something about there being some anomalies besides the X-Gene.” Coulson said sipping his coffee.

“I thought you said we were done getting poked at like some lab experiment. I didn’t sign up to be some mad scientist’s new pet project. I didn’t break my brothers out of one lab to walk them right into another.” Barney said as he placed two cups in front of his brother. He ran his hands through their hair to wake them up.

“I promise you this isn’t going to be a regular thing. It’s just that they are trying to get a baseline reading on you three so that we’ll know if anything happens to you or if someone tries to replace you.” Coulson responded.

“Who’s replacing us?” Will asked as he finally looked to be waking up.

“No one is. Why don’t you and Clint go get ready? We have to go into work today.” Barney said. He watched as his brother’s stumbled to their room holding their cups of coffee like valued possessions. Once his brothers were out of the room Barney turned to their handler and studied him. He wasn’t sure what to think of him. Over the weeks since they had become part of SHIELD Coulson had been a persistent shadow that had followed them around.

Clint had attached himself right back. He followed Coulson around alternating between annoying him with questions and scaring anyone who dared to bother the man away. Will while not as attached as Clint was seemed to love the efficiency of the man and had started helping him out with the paper work. Barney on the other hand didn’t completely trust him. Sure he was being helpful right now, but unlike his brothers he had experience with secret government operations.

“Which one of the mad scientists you employ asked for our presence?” Barney asked.

“I believe it was Dr. Stevenson.” Coulson said looking down at his cell phone. Barney scowled and turned to his room. He had been worried about that. When he had seen Dr. Stevenson it had taken everything he had not to take his brothers and run. His brothers loved it here. They liked Coulson and they loved making the other agents lives hell during training. He wouldn’t be the cause for them having to abandon it. He would have to take care of Dr. Stevenson in a more permanent manner.

“We’ll be ready soon.” Barney said walking into their bedroom. His brothers were almost done getting dressed. He quickly grabbed some clothes and started to get dressed. He was still getting ready when his brothers finished and left the room.

Barney waited until he was sure that they were gone before walking over to one of the paintings hanging on the wall. He took the painting down revealing a safe. He opened it and grabbed a portable hard drive. He put it in his pocket before grabbing what looked like an elephant figurine. He pressed down on the red ruby then the sapphire and emerald at the same time. The back popped up revealing a hidden compartment. Barney reached in and grabbed the ring. He closed the safe and put back the painting. He finished getting ready and walked out to join the others.

“Are you ready?” Coulson asked standing up.

“Yeah I’m ready to get this over with.” Barney said with a smile.

* * *

* * *

 

 

 

“Alright I think I have all the samples I need for today.” Dr. Stevenson said with a smile. Barney watched as the woman put away the samples of blood. His brothers looked happy that they were finally allowed to go. They had been here for two hours being poked and prodded more than he could handle. Even Coulson looked like he was getting annoyed now. Barney but down the Starkpad he had been playing with onto the bed.

“I believe you have all the samples you will need. There will not be a next time.” Coulson said standing up. Dr. Stevenson looked like she was about to argue but stopped when Coulson shot her a look that was actually pretty terrifying. She quickly backed out of the room.

“I have a meeting with Fury you guys feel free to go down to the range and have some fun. I’ll be there as soon as my meeting is done.” Coulson said walking out of the room.

“I bet I can do better than you at the range.” Clint said with a smile as they walked out of the labs.

“Yeah I’m not stupid enough to take that bet.” Will grumbled. They continued down the hallway for a while before noticing that their brother wasn’t with them.

“Are you coming?” Will asked.

“I forgot my Starkpad in the lab. I’ll join you there.” Barney said as he started to walk back.

“Do you want us to join you?” Clint asked.

“No thanks I can grab my pad all by myself. I’ll meet you there.” Barney said continuing on his way. He didn’t like ditching his brothers but he couldn’t do what he needed to do with them watching. He was outside the labs when he took out the portable hard drive and plugged it into the doors controls. He pressed a button on the side activating the program inside. In twenty seconds all of SHIELD’s computer systems would be shut down completely erasing the last twenty minutes of security footage. It would take approximately two minutes for the systems to come back online.

He went into the lab and walked towards the office. Dr. Stevenson was inside trying to get the phones to work. He twisted the face off his ring revealing a small needle. He entered the room and closed the door.

“It’s been a long time Mary.” Barney said. Dr. Stevenson jumped and dropped the phone. She tried to keep her nerves from showing but failed miserably.

“Barney we just spent the last few hours together I don’t think that would count as a long time.” Dr. Stevenson said with a smile.

“Were you trying to get a hold of Byer?”

“So it is you Aaron.” Stevenson said backing up until she hit the wall.

“Of course it is. Now you’re going to tell me what you’ve told Byer or things are going to get really nasty really fast.” Aaron said advancing towards the woman.

“I didn’t have the time to tell him anything. I wasn’t sure that it was you and I wasn’t going to report anything until I was sure.” She said sounding scared and desperate.

“Well that’s good to know.” Aaron said clapping her on the side of the arm with enough force she didn’t notice the needle pierce her skin. Aaron turned around and headed towards the door.

“You’re not going to kill me?” The woman called out. Aaron stopped at the entrance and turned to look at the doctor.

“I already have.” Aaron said walking out of the office. He ignored the crash that came from the office a few seconds later.

“So who’s Aaron and why did he just kill our doctor?” A voice asked from his right. He wasn’t really surprised to see his brothers standing there. He should have known that they would have never let him go anywhere by himself.

“How much did you see?” Aaron asked.

“Everything.” Will responded holding Aaron’s Starkpad.

“Look I’ll tell you everything…just not here.” Aaron said with a sigh.

“Fine but when we get back to the apartment you’re telling us everything.” Clint said walking towards the door.

“Yeah there are no secrets between brothers.” Will said following him. This wasn’t going to be fun Aaron couldn’t help but think.

* * *

* * *

 

 

“Have you figured out what that was about?” Fury asked.

“No sir, we have no idea what caused our loss of power. We do believe someone was infiltrating our base. Dr. Stevenson was found dead in her office. The doctors are doing an autopsy right now.” Hill told him.

“She was obviously the target of this attack, since nothing else was disturbed and no data was accessed from our archives.” Phil pointed out.

“Why would someone go through all this trouble to kill a geneticist?”

“We have no idea sir. Our records show that we picked up Dr. Stevenson from a company that had some military backing but other than that there is nothing that could point to why she would be targeted.” Hill said.

“Something isn’t adding up here. Hill I want you to look into Dr. Stevenson’s past. Something’s telling me there is more here than meets the eye.” Fury said. Hill nodded before leaving the room.

“Do you need anything else sir?” Phil asked.

“Sit down Cheese we still have to have that meeting.” Fury said. Phil sat down and waited for his old friend to start.

"How are the triplets doing?" Fury asked. Phil sighed, of course Fury would want to know about those pain in his butt.

"They seem to be adjusting well. They have started talking more often. In fact i find it hard to get Clint to shut up. They seem to enjoy torturing the agents recruited to help in their training. I'm also trying to get them to do other things than shooting and training. They seem to have little interest in anything other than training or martial arts. I'm worried that their lack of social interraction will impede their ability to empathise with other human being." Phil responded.

"Is that something i should be worried about?"

"Not right now sir, it appears that their forced interaction with me and the other agents are slowly opening them from the shell that they were livving in before."

“Good, We have a few situations that are starting to become a problem for us and I want you to speed up the training with the triplets. I want them ready to go in three weeks. They will be perfect for these missions.”

“May I ask what missions you’re talking about?” Phil asked wondering what could be important enough for Fury to rush the triplets training.

“There’s a certain Russian assassin that is starting to become a huge pain in my ass. She is able to escape every trap we set and while she hasn’t killed any of our agents yet she has seriously injured them. Barney and Will’s skills might be what we need to apprehend her. If that doesn’t work Clint will be able to take her out from a far.”

“And the other mission sir?”

“Once the assassin is taken care of I want to send the triplets to infiltrate the IMF. Something’s not right there. There have been too many higher positioned members going rogue for my comfort. Someone there isn’t doing their jobs. I think Will is the best choice to go undercover, maybe as an analyst. The other two will be his back up.” Fury continued.

“Understood sir I will tell Agent Sitwell that we are intensifying the training and to cancel all days off.” Phil said standing up.

“That’s all Cheese. I have to go deal with a problem in Afghanistan. Apparent a stupid billionaire playboy got himself captured by a bunch of terrorists.” Fury said dismissing his friend. Phil walked out of the room. Now that his meeting was done he could find the triplets and get out of here. He was going to be spending way too much time here in the future.


End file.
